The Lion and the Rose
by xXShokubeniXDieXx
Summary: The lonely rose whose heart is stone comes across the lion whose heart is the same. Can they break down their barriers for each other? SquallxOC, AU (M for later chapters)
1. The Rose

_So this is a story I wrote I over ten years ago but I am completely redoing it. It's a story that is very close to me. There is going to be a little inspiration from RWBY. I do not own any Final Fantasy characters or lyrics from and RWBY songs. _

_"__Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest" _

Cold, amber eyes gazed down at the marble headstone before her as the beholder thought of what could have prevented this death. Angelic wings adorned the back of the gravestone; a trademark of the deceased. No more tears could be shed from this death since all the tears have fallen years ago. She pulled her black hood closer to her face from the freezing snow blowing in her direction. The cold didn't bother her like it did when she was a child. Though her heart felt like it was frozen. The only person she was close to has been dead for nearly five years. Ever since her loved one died, she felt like something withered in her heart.

"Tell me, sister, can a heart be turned to stone?" she asked softly.

Of course she would get no answer. All she could hear was the wind blowing and the dead silence of the graveyard. The snow began to fall heavier as bigger flakes covered the headstone. When her older sister was still alive, she knew that her parents, especially their father, loved her sister the most. They treated her like a princess but her sister didn't act like one. She wasn't stuck up or prissy but kind and loving. Her older sibling loved her dearly and would play with her all the time, especially in their mother's flower garden. Her sister also cheered her up when she was upset and tried to make her smile no matter what, even giving her the nickname Rose since her hair was the color of a red rose. The smiles left the day her sister died.

She closed her eyes then turned away from the grave as memories flooded back to her. She hung her head low while heading back to her home. She thought back to her childhood, recalling her parents doting on her older sister. Their father gave her sister everything she could ask for while she usually received the hand me downs. When her sister passed away, she left home and decided to be on her own, not wanting anymore grief from her parents.

As she walked, the snow crunched beneath her boots and the freezing snow tinted her cheeks a rosy red. Her opening eyes adverted to the snow covered ground, noticing specks of red. She quirked a brow then kneeled to have a better look. Dragging her fingers against the substance, she brought her fingers close to inspect it. The coppery smell of blood hit her nostrils.

"The hell?" she said under her breath.

Looking up, she could see a trail of blood leading up a hill. She immediately stood up and followed the blood splatter. Once at the top, she saw where the trail ended and what the source. Her yellow eyes widened when she saw a man lying in the snow with a cut across his face. She rushed to his side while taking off her coat to cover him. She placed a hand on his cheek to feel he was freezing cold. Her heart nearly stopped, hoping he wasn't dead. She felt for a pulse and thanked God. He was still alive but he wouldn't be for much longer if she let him stay out here.


	2. The Lion

I do not own any Final Fantasy characters or the lyrics to any RWBY songs. I do however own the main character who is still nameless until the next chapter.

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Eyes burned with hate in his crystal blue eyes as he stared at his opponent. Just the sight of him always made his stomach bubble with anger. The man before him also glared at him with his icy blue eyes. With their weapons in hand, they were both determined to take the other one down. Even if it was at the expense of their own life. They blamed each other for the death of someone they cared for deeply. They haven't crossed paths until now when they were visiting the grave.

"This is going to end now," his opponent growled while clenching the hilt of his gunblade, Hyperion, "You deserve this for letting her die."

Those words pierced through him but he shook his head. He couldn't let his opponent rattle him. It wasn't his fault and she didn't die under his watch. He brought his gunblade up to point at his attacker.

"You know damn well that you are the reason she is gone," he spat as acid dripped from his words, "She would still be here if you weren't so stubborn!"

"That's a lie! I knew I should have killed you years ago," the opponent yelled, "I'm not going to hesitate now."

He raised Hyperion and ran towards him but he raised his gunblade. The blades clashed which made them spark from impact. They locked eyes for a brief second before continuing to spar. No mercy was shown as they continued to spar. His opponent held some composure but he was full of anger. The past five years without her completely killed him and he felt lost without her.

He was eventually growing tired as they continued to fight. Taking this opportunity, his opponent used a fire attack causing him to shield his eyes. When he pulled his arm away, steel blue eyes looked to see Hyperion coming down on him. Searing pain burned across his face as the blade sliced him. He fell to his knees as some of his blood seeped into his eyes.

His opponent smirked as he saw him struggle which would give him the perfect opportunity to kill while he was down. Raising Hyperion again to finish him off, he was stopped by singing.

"_Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest"_

Looking towards the source of the haunting voice, he saw someone with a black hood standing at the grave he was there to visit.

"Who is that?" he asked surprised.

When he looked back down, he saw a gunblade striking him in the face. He cried and fell back, feeling warm blood pooling down his face. He then looked back at steel blue eyes that would not give up. He hated that look more than anything right now. He wanted to wipe it right off of his face. Eventually those steel blue eyes closed and fell to the snowy ground. His opponent sneered and figured he would just leave him here to freeze to death.

As he walked away, he looked back at the figure standing at his loved one's grave. He could see red hair that cascaded from her hood. She lifted her head slightly and it shocked him, making him turn and run.

"It can't be!" he gasped as he ran.


	3. The Lion and the Rose Meet

I do not own any Final Fantasy characters or any song/lyrics related to RWBY. I do however own the main female character!

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Steel blue eyes slowly fluttered open to see a dark, white ceiling. He blinked a little then closed them tightly as he began to remember about earlier in the cemetery. He remembered fighting his rival and being slashed across the face along with a searing pain. He thought he was going to die out in the freezing snow. His hand reached up to feel his laceration but noticed that it was all patched up. Who had saved him? He sat up in the bed he was laying in and saw his leather jacket hanging on a chair that was pushed into a desk. He looked around to also see a dresser and a nightstand with a lamp on it. Even though he felt groggy, he stood up and opened the door to the room.

He held onto the wall for support as he walked, noticing that the rest of the house was dimly lit since it after sunset. A light was coming from the kitchen along with the sounds of someone cooking. Staying quiet, he peeked around the corner to see a woman mixing something on the stove. Was she the one who helped him? She had long, red hair that was pulled back and she was at least five foot and six inches. She took noticed of him out of her peripheral vision which startled her. He noticed her amber eyes since they were wide with surprise.

"Oh, you're awake," she said softly, "How do you feel?"

He felt a little woozy but not as bad as before but he spoke up, "Better but still pretty tired."

She nodded and walked over to him, "You should continue to rest. You were laying there for awhile. I'll bring you some dinner when it's finished."

He knew she was right and looked at her as she walked back over to the stove. He couldn't help but feel she looked familiar but he figured it was because he was tired. Making his way back to the room he came from, he observed her home. There was very little furniture and art displayed on the wall. When he was back in his room, he lay back down and could feel sleep instantly take over.

He was awakened by someone shaking his shoulder. He slowly turned to see the girl then saw a tray with a bowl of stew, a plate with two slices of buttered toast, a small bowl of fruit and some tea that was placed on the nightstand. He sat up slowly so he could eat and she carefully placed the tray on his lap then pulled the chair to sit by his side.

He looked from the food displayed before him then back at her, "Thank you for saving me."

"Of course, I couldn't just leave you out there," she said and was relieved when she saw him began to eat, "What were you doing out there though?"

"I… went there to visit someone I loved very much… today is the day she was killed…" he said while staring at his food, feeling sickened for a moment.

She closed her eyes and felt her heart clench, "The Galbadia Massacre. Correct?"

He nodded and closed his eyes, "Yes, I…"

"You don't have to say anymore," she said cutting him off, "I know the pain it causes. My sister was killed right before my eyes… I was visiting her grave as well."

He then looked at her, hoping to God that she wasn't related to his lover, "What is your name?"

"It's Crim. Crim Rose," she said with almost saddened amber eyes.

In a way he was relieved when she said her name. She wasn't the younger sister of his deceased lover. Even though he blamed his rival for his lover's death, he felt responsible in a way as well. He felt like he didn't protect the way he should have.

He then looked back at her, "Squall Leonhart."

"It's nice to meet you," she replied, "I hope that the stew tastes all right."

"Oh," Squall said and looked at it, "It's great. Thank you."

"Good," Crim said with a small smile, "I hope you don't mind but I'm going to check your wound."

"No, go ahead," Squall replied lifting his head for her.

Crim carefully removed the medical tape and pulled aside the gauze, "It's healing nicely but it will leave a scar."

"Figures," Squall let out a sigh.

Crim let out a small chuckle then covered the wound again and patted his shoulder, "Scars will attract the ladies."

Squall smiled for a second then saw her head towards the door. For some reason, he didn't want her to leave. Crim looked at him and smiled, "I'll let you finish eating and rest some more."

As soon as she closed the door, Squall felt alone again. He sighed and decided to finish up his dinner while it was still hot. When he was finished, Squall placed the tray on the nightstand and turned off the light so he could sleep more. No matter what, Squall could not fall back asleep. All he could think about was his dead girlfriend.

He slipped out of bed to look through his jacket for something she gave him. He then pulled out a necklace with a ring hanging from the thin chain. The ring he gave to her also hung from the necklace. He sat down on the edge of the bed just staring at the two rings. Their lives were intertwined and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. That was all gone.

He clenched the rings in his hand and placed his free hand over his eyes, "I'm sorry, Rinoa…"

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Crim closed the door behind her as she made her way to the kitchen to clean up and put away leftovers. Once she finished cleaning up the kitchen, she walked into her living room then pulled out a sketchbook from underneath her coffee table. Crim began to draw her sister and making sure to get every detail right from her chocolate eyes, button nose and smiling dimples. She missed her sister so much that it hurt every time Crim thought about her.

"Rinoa…" Crim sniffed.

She reminisced about the mansion they lived in in Deling City with their parents. Crim was four years younger than Rinoa and was completely different from her. Rinoa had beautiful tan skin, raven black hair and deep, brown eyes while Crim had pale snow like skin, fiery red hair and cat like yellow eyes. So many people including her parents praised Rinoa for her beauty while others thought Crim was strange. Rinoa didn't think her little sister was strange at all. She had to convince Crim that she was beautiful as well.

Crim remembered sitting in their mother's garden during an important party for their father and staring at a rose she held in her hands. Rinoa had sat next to her and noticed her little sister was upset since some of the guests paid attention to Rinoa and her parents but shunned Crim. Rinoa hated seeing her so upset and had to help her cheer up. She took notice of the rose Crim held then smiled.

"You know, you're beautiful too, sis," Rinoa said cocking her head to the side a little to look at Crim's face.

"Not like you, Rinny…" Crim replied wiping her eyes, "Mommy and daddy love you the most…"

"That's not true…" Rinoa said stroking her red hair back, "They love you very much too."

"But you're still prettier…" Crim said sadly.

"You are too," Rinoa said then took the rose from Crim, "You're beautiful like this rose and your hair matches the color. You're my little rose."

Crim looked up at Rinoa, "Really, Rinny?"

Rinoa smiled and nodded while putting the flower in Crim's hair, "Of course, Rose."

Rinoa then winced a little bit which surprised Crim, "Are you ok?!"

She smiled and nodded, "Of course. I nicked myself on a thorn, that's it."

Crim looked to see a small bead of blood form on Rinoa's index finger. That day and also the years to come, Crim knew that her hair wasn't the only color red like roses. Her memories took her to that day where blood shed was everywhere and her sister was covered.

Crim had tears running down her cheeks and couldn't stand it. She began to tear up the drawing she had just done to beyond recognition and threw her sketchbook across the room. She pulled her knees to her chest and a let out a sob.


End file.
